The team’s race program in Turkey commenced today with the first of four stages in the Tour of Mersin, a challenging 93-kilometer coastal ride from Anamur culminating in a demanding ascent to the entrance of the renowned Gilindire Cave. The stage two significant climbs: the first KOM arriving around the 70-kilometer mark and the decisive final climb leading to the finish.
Riders initially navigated a circuit around Anamur for a couple of laps on flat roads before heading east along the Mediterranean coast on a predominantly flat and very fast section, propelled by a strong tailwind which resulted in an impressive average speed of 46 km/h. The peloton then the penultimate ascent, where the race saw significant splits before the ultimate battle to the finish line. Blessed with favourable weather conditions, the stage set the scene for an exciting start to the tour.
The team demonstrated exceptional cohesion and tactical awareness, effectively countering numerous attacks throughout the stage. As the race approached its climax, the peloton fractured on the penultimate climb, with Michal and Bálint initially making it into the leading group. They were subsequently joined by the majority of their teammates. On the final, arduous climb to the cave entrance, Bálint Feldhoffer unleashed a powerful effort, ultimately overtaking two leading riders in the final 50 meters to secure a hard-fought victory.
Bálint’s stellar performance also earned him all the classification jerseys, which the team will now aim to defend in the subsequent stages.
Reflecting on his victory, Bálint shared his insights:
“The beginning was on flat roads, with two smaller laps. I positioned myself in the middle of the peloton, trying to conserve energy while Máté, Szabi, Mihajlo, and Zsombi reacted to attacks and tried to keep things under control. They did a great job, managing to keep the peloton together. After the laps, a very fast section with a tailwind followed, which was reflected in the average speed – today we averaged 46 km/h.
On the climb before the finish, every team was positioning seriously, as if preparing for a sprint finish. We also stayed in a good position, but even so, this part was very tough, we had to go full gas. In the end, I reached the KOM in fourth place, where the peloton completely split. About twenty of us remained at the front, including Michal and me. It was clear that this was a serious move, so we also started taking turns and reacted to further attacks.
On the final climb, about 7-8 kilometers before the finish, a guy from the Tarteletto–Isorex team attacked. He tried alone, was always within sight, and I knew this breakaway wouldn’t last long, so we slowed down a bit. Thanks to this, a larger group caught us, including Veljko, Máté, Szabi, and Zsombi. We regrouped and together caught the last man at the front. This happened roughly three kilometers before the end, and from then on, we rode at a tremendous pace again.
The beginning felt really bad, I won’t deny it 😃, but I managed to pull myself together and react to the attacks. At the end, there were a lot of attempts, from others, from us, from me too. Finally, in the last 200 meters, two riders managed to gain a small advantage. I got a bit scared that this was it, so I sprinted even harder, and in the last 50 meters, I passed both of them.
It was a very good day, my form is still top-notch, today I even recorded record wattages. I hope the recovery goes just as well as the race.
So far, it doesn’t really feel like they know us very well, the peloton is quite chaotic. However, they are not aggressive towards us either, so maybe they are starting to recognize our jerseys. It will be easier to recognize in the yellow jersey, we’ll see how this develops in the coming days.
Tomorrow I should keep the jersey, it would be enough to just arrive with the peloton. However, the third stage has a lot of serious climbs waiting for us. If the legs are good, anything can happen – if I manage to arrive well at the front there, the last stage shouldn’t be too difficult, and that way the yellow jersey and the young rider’s jersey could stay with me until the end.
I had already picked out this third stage for myself before the race, I’m really looking forward to it because I’m strong on these types of climbs.
This is the most important victory of my career so far – it means even more to me than last year’s National Championship. It gave a lot to my confidence, and to the others’ as well. The atmosphere within the team is very good, we are trying to recover and prepare for the remaining days, but everyone is excited and really looking forward to the continuation!”
Photo source: Ozan Yavuz (Instagram)